July 4th, Independence DayToday is Wednesday, July 4, the 186th day of 2012. There are 180 days left in the year. It is Independence Day, celebrating the Declaration of Independence of the United States from Great Britain in 1776. It also is Liberation Day (Rwanda) and Republic Day (Philippines).

The Aphelion, the point in the year when the Earth is farthest from the Sun, occurs at about this date.

Today's Highlight in History:
On July 4, 1776, the Declaration of Independence was adopted by delegates to the Second Continental Congress in Philadelphia.

On this date:
In 414, Emperor Theodosius II, age 13, yields power to his older sister Aelia Pulcheria who reigns as regent and proclaimed herself empress (Augusta) of the Eastern Roman Empire.
In 836, Pactum Sicardi, peace between the Principality of Benevento and the Duchy of Naples.
In 993, Saint Ulrich of Augsburg is canonized.
In 1054, A supernova is seen by Chinese, Arab, and possibly Amerindian observers near the star Zeta Tauri. For several months it remains bright enough to be seen during the day. Its remnants form the Crab Nebula.
In 1120, Jordan II of Capua is anointed as prince after his infant nephew's death.
In 1187, The Crusades: Battle of Hattin, Saladin defeats Guy of Lusignan, King of Jerusalem.
In 1253, Battle of West-Capelle: John I of Avesnes defeats Guy of Dampierre.
In 1359, Francesco II Ordelaffi of Forlì surrenders to the Papal commander Gil de Albornoz.
In 1456, The Siege of Nándorfehérvár (Belgrade) begins. (Part of the Ottoman wars in Europe)
In 1534, Christian III is elected King of Denmark and Norway in the town of Rye.
In 1569, The King of Poland and the Grand Duke of Lithuania, Sigismund II Augustus finally sign the document of union between Poland and Lithuania, creating new country known as Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth.
In 1610, The Battle of Klushino between forces of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth and Russia during the Polish-Muscovite War.
In 1634, The city of Trois-Rivières is founded in New France (Quebec, Canada)
In 1636, City of Providence, Rhode Island forms.
In 1744, The Treaty of Lancaster, in which the Iroquois ceded lands between the Allegheny Mountains and the Ohio River to the British colonies, is signed in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.
In 1754, French and Indian War: George Washington surrenders Fort Necessity to French Capt. Louis Coulon de Villiers.
In 1774, Orangetown Resolutions adopted in the Province of New York, one of many protests against the British Parliament's Coercive Acts.
In 1778, American Revolutionary War: American forces under George Clark capture Kaskaskia during the Illinois campaign.
In 1802, the United States Military Academy officially opened at West Point, N.Y.
In 1803, The Louisiana Purchase is announced to the American people.
In 1810, The French occupy Amsterdam.
In 1817, At Rome, New York, United States, construction on the Erie Canal begins.
In 1826, Thomas Jefferson, third president of the United States, dies the same day as John Adams, second president of the United States, on the 50th anniversary of the adoption of the United States Declaration of Independence.
In 1827, Slavery is abolished in New York State.
In 1831, the fifth president of the United States, James Monroe, died in New York City at age 73.
In 1831, Samuel Francis Smith wrote My Country, 'Tis of Thee for the Boston July 4 festivities.
In 1837, Grand Junction Railway, the world's first long-distance railway, opens between Birmingham and Liverpool.
In 1838, The Iowa Territory is organized.
In 1855, In Brooklyn, N.Y., the first edition of Walt Whitman's book of poems, titled Leaves of Grass, is published.
In 1862, English mathematician and clergyman Charles L. Dodgson ("Lewis Carroll") began devising the story of Alice in Wonderland for his young friend Alice Pleasance Liddell and her sisters during a boating trip.
In 1863, American Civil War: Siege of Vicksburg, Vicksburg, Mississippi surrenders to Ulysses S. Grant after 47 days of siege. 150 miles up the Mississippi River, a Confederate Army is repulsed at the Battle of Helena, Ark.
In 1863, American Civil War: The Army of Northern Virginia withdraws from the battlefield after its loss at the Battle of Gettysburg, signalling an end to the Southern invasion of the North.
In 1872, the 30th president of the United States, Calvin Coolidge, was born in Plymouth, Vt.
In 1878, Thoroughbred horses Ten Broeck and Mollie McCarty run a match race, immortalized in the song Molly and Tenbrooks.
In 1879, Anglo-Zulu War: the Zululand capital of Ulundi is captured by British troops and burnt to the ground, thus, ending the war and forcing King Cetshwayo to flee.
In 1881, In Alabama, the Tuskegee Institute opens.
In 1886, The people of France offer the Statue of Liberty to the people of the United States.
In 1886, The first scheduled Canadian transcontinental train arrives in Port Moody, British Columbia.
In 1887, The founder of Pakistan, Quaid-i-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah, joins Sindh-Madrasa-tul-Islam, Karachi.
In 1892, Western Samoa changes the International Date Line, so that year there were 367 days in this country, with two occurrences of Monday, July 4.
In 1894, The short-lived Republic of Hawaii is proclaimed by Sanford B. Dole.
In 1903, Dorothy Levitt is reported as the first woman in the world to compete in a 'motor race'.
In 1910, African-American boxer Jack Johnson knocks out white boxer Jim Jeffries in a heavyweight boxing match sparking race riots across the United States.
In 1912, the 48-star American flag, recognizing New Mexico statehood, was adopted. A train wreck near Corning, N.Y., claimed 39 lives.
In 1913, President Woodrow Wilson addresses American Civil War veterans at the Great Reunion of 1913.
In 1918, Ottoman sultan Mehmed VI ascends to the throne.
In 1918, Bolsheviks kill Tsar Nicholas II of Russia and his family (Julian calendar date).
In 1927, First flight of the Lockheed Vega.
In 1934, Leo Szilard patents the chain-reaction design for the atomic bomb.
In 1939, Lou Gehrig, recently diagnosed with Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, tells a crowd at Yankee Stadium that he considers himself "The luckiest man on the face of the earth" as he announces his retirement from major league baseball.

Re: July 4th, Independence DayIn 1941, Nazi troops massacre Polish scientists and writers in the captured Ukrainian city of Lviv.
In 1942, Irving Berlin's musical review "This Is the Army" opened at the Broadway Theater in New York.
In 1943, World War II: Beginning of the Battle of Kursk, the largest full-scale battle in history and the world's largest tank battle at Prokhorovka village.
In 1946, After 381 years of near-continuous colonial rule by various powers, the Philippines attains full independence from the United States.
In 1947, The "Indian Independence Bill" is presented before the British House of Commons, proposing the partition of the Provinces of British India into two sovereign countries, India and Pakistan.
In 1950, The first broadcast by Radio Free Europe.
In 1951, A court in Czechoslovakia sentences American journalist William N. Oatis to 10 years in prison on a charge of espionage.
In 1959, America's 49-star flag, recognizing Alaskan statehood, was officially unfurled.
In 1960, America's 50-star flag, recognizing Hawaiian statehood, was officially unfurled.
In 1966, President Lyndon B. Johnson signs the Freedom of Information Act into United States law. The act goes into effect the next year.
In 1969, Two teens (one male, one female) are attacked at Blue Rock Springs in California. They are the second (known) victims of the Zodiac Killer. The male survives.
In 1976, Israeli commandos raided Entebbe airport in Uganda, rescuing almost all of the passengers and crew of an Air France jetliner seized by pro-Palestinian hijackers.
In 1977, The George Jackson Brigade plants a bomb at the main power substation for the Washington state capitol in Olympia in solidarity with a prison strike at the Walla Walla State Penitentiary Intensive Security Unit
In 1982, Iranian diplomats kidnapping (1982): four Iranian diplomats are kidnapped by Lebanese militia in Lebanon.
In 1982, the space shuttle Columbia concluded its fourth and final test flight with a smooth landing at Edwards Air Force Base in California.
In 1982, Rocker Ozzy Osbourne married his manager, Sharon Arden, in Maui, Hawaii.
In 1987, Klaus Barbie, the former Gestapo chief known as the "Butcher of Lyon," was convicted by a French court of crimes against humanity and sentenced to life in prison (he died in September 1991).
In 1993, Sumitomo Chemical's resin plant in Nihama explodes killing one worker and injuring three others.
In 1997, NASA's Pathfinder space probe lands on the surface of Mars.
In 2004, The cornerstone of the Freedom Tower is laid on the site of the World Trade Center in New York City.
In 2005, The Deep Impact collider hits the comet Tempel 1.
In 2006, North Korea tests four short-range missiles, one medium-range missile, and a long-range Taepodong-2. The long-range Taepodong-2 reportedly fails in mid-air over the Sea of Japan.
In 2009, The Statue of Liberty's crown reopens to the public after eight years of closure due to security concerns following the September 11 attacks.
In 2012, The discovery of the Higgs boson particle at the Large Hadron Collider is announced at CERN.

Ten years ago: A gunman opened fire at Israel's El Al ticket counter at Los Angeles International Airport, killing two people; gunman Hesham Mohamed Hadayet was shot dead by an El Al guard. Benjamin O. Davis Jr., leader of the famed all-black Tuskegee Airmen during World War II and the first black general in the Air Force, died in Washington D.C. at age 89. Winnifred Quick Van Tongerloo, a survivor of the Titanic sinking, died in East Lansing, Mich., at age 98.

Five years ago: BBC reporter Alan Johnston, seized by the Army of Islam in the Gaza Strip the previous March, was released. The head of the radical-held Red Mosque (Maulana Abdul Aziz) in Islamabad, Pakistan, was caught by security forces. (He was released on bail in April 2009.) The Black Sea resort of Sochi was elected the host city of the 2014 Winter Olympics, taking the Winter Games to Russia for the first time. Bill Pinkney, the last survivor of the original members of the musical group The Drifters, died in Daytona Beach, Fla., at age 81.

One year ago: Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez made a surprise return to his country after undergoing cancer treatment in Cuba. Otto von Hapsburg, 98, the oldest son of Austria's last emperor and longtime head of one of Europe's most influential families, died in Poecking, Germany.

Re: July 4th, Independence DayToday is Thursday, July 4, the 185th day of 2013. There are 180 days left in the year. This is Independence Day.

Today's Highlight in History:
On July 4, 1776, the Declaration of Independence was adopted by delegates to the Second Continental Congress in Philadelphia.

One year ago: Scientists at the European Center for Nuclear Research in Geneva, where the world's biggest atom smasher is located, cheered the apparent end of a decades-long quest for a new subatomic particle called the Higgs boson, or "God particle." Three children drowned when a yacht carrying 27 people capsized in Long Island Sound off Oyster Bay, N.Y. Joey Chestnut won his sixth straight Fourth of July hot dog-eating contest at New York's Coney Island, downing 68 dogs and buns to tie his personal best.

Re: July 4th, Independence DayToday is Friday, July 4, the 185th day of 2014. There are 180 days left in the year. This is Independence Day.

Today's Highlight in History:
On July 4, 1776, the Declaration of Independence was adopted by delegates to the Second Continental Congress in Philadelphia.

Ten years ago: A 20-ton slab of granite, inscribed to honor "the enduring spirit of freedom," was laid at the World Trade Center site as the cornerstone of the Freedom Tower skyscraper that replaced the destroyed twin towers. Defending the war in Iraq, President George W. Bush told a cheering crowd outside the West Virginia state capitol that America was safer because Saddam Hussein was in a prison cell. Roger Federer overcame Andy Roddick's power game to win his second straight Wimbledon title, 4-6, 7-5, 7-6 (3), 6-4. Meg Mallon won the Women's U.S. Open with a 6-under 65.
Five years ago: Former Tennessee Titans quarterback Steve McNair was fatally shot in a Nashville condo by his mistress, Sahel Kazemi (sah-HEHL' kah-ZEE'-mee), who then killed herself. North Korea launched seven ballistic missiles into waters off its east coast. The Statue of Liberty's crown was reopened to tourists for the first time since September 11, 2001. Serena Williams beat her big sister, Venus, 7-6 (3), 6-2 for her third Wimbledon title and 11th Grand Slam championship.
One year ago: Egypt's interim president, Adly Mansour, was sworn in following the ouster of Mohammed Morsi, the Islamist leader overthrown by the military after just one year in office. The Statue of Liberty reopened on the Fourth of July, eight months after Superstorm Sandy shuttered the national symbol of freedom. Bernadette Nolan, 52, a member of the singing sister act the Nolans who had a worldwide hit in 1979 with "I'm In The Mood For Dancing," died in Surrey, England.

Re: July 4th, Independence DayToday is Saturday, July 4, the 185th day of 2015. There are 180 days left in the year. This is Independence Day.

Today's Highlight in History:
On July 4, 1776, the Declaration of Independence was adopted by delegates to the Second Continental Congress in Philadelphia.

Ten years ago: President George W. Bush, during an Independence Day visit to Morgantown, West Virginia, urged resolve in the war in Iraq and said that "the proper response is not retreat. It is courage." Hall of Fame football coach Hank Stram died in Covington, Louisiana, at age 82. Movie musical actress June Haver died at age 79.

Five years ago: Gen. David Petraeus formally assumed command of the 130,000-strong international force in Afghanistan, declaring "we are in this to win." Interim Polish President Bronislaw Komorowski held off a last-minute election surge from Jaroslaw Kaczynski, the identical twin brother of the late president, Lech Kaczynski, who'd died in an April plane crash. Dr. Robert Butler, 83, a Pulitzer Prize-winning expert on aging who coined the phrase "ageism," died in New York. Rafael Nadal swept Tomas Berdych in straight sets, 6-3, 7-5, 6-4, to win his second Wimbledon title and eighth Grand Slam championship.

One year ago: Germany summoned the U.S. ambassador in Berlin after the arrest of a man reported to have spied for the United States, heightening friction between the two countries over alleged U.S. eavesdropping in Germany. Richard Mellon Scaife, 82, the billionaire heir to the Mellon banking and oil fortunes and a newspaper publisher who funded libertarian and conservative causes and various projects aimed at discrediting President Bill Clinton, died in Pittsburgh.

Re: July 4th, Independence DayToday is Monday, July 4, the 186th day of 2016. There are 180 days left in the year. This is Independence Day.

Today's Highlight in History:
On July 4, 1776, the Declaration of Independence was adopted by delegates to the Second Continental Congress in Philadelphia.

Ten years ago: Discovery lifted off in the first Independence Day shuttle launch. Word reached the United States that North Korea had test-fired several missiles, including a long-range device that failed within seconds (because of the time difference, it was July 5 at the launch site).

Five years ago: Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez made a surprise return to his country after undergoing cancer treatment in Cuba. Otto von Hapsburg, 98, the oldest son of Austria's last emperor and longtime head of one of Europe's most influential families, died in Poecking, Germany.

One year ago: Billy Joel married girlfriend Alexis Roderick in a surprise ceremony at the couple's annual Fourth of July party; New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo presided over the nuptials at Joel's Long Island estate. Diana Douglas, 92, the first wife of Kirk Douglas and mother of Michael Douglas, died in Los Angeles. Matt Stonie shocked the competitive eating world by upsetting Joey "Jaws" Chestnut at the Fourth of July hot dog eating contest at Nathan's Famous in Coney Island, thwarting Chestnut's bid for a ninth straight victory.

Re: July 4th, Independence DayToday is Tuesday, July 4, the 185th day of 2017. There are 180 days left in the year. This is U.S. Independence Day.

Today's Highlight in History:
On July 4, 1776, the Declaration of Independence was adopted by delegates to the Second Continental Congress in Philadelphia.

Ten years ago: BBC reporter Alan Johnston, seized by the Army of Islam in the Gaza Strip the previous March, was released after 114 days in captivity. The head of the radical-held Red Mosque (Maulana Abdul Aziz) in Islamabad, Pakistan, was caught by security forces. (He was eventually released.) The Black Sea resort of Sochi was elected the host city of the 2014 Winter Olympics, taking the Winter Games to Russia for the first time. Bill Pinkney, the last survivor of the original members of the musical group The Drifters, died in Daytona Beach, Fla., at age 81.

Five years ago: Scientists at the European Center for Nuclear Research in Geneva, where the world's biggest atom smasher is located, cheered the apparent end of a decades-long quest for a new subatomic particle called the Higgs boson, or "God particle." Three children drowned when a yacht carrying 27 people capsized in Long Island Sound off Oyster Bay, N.Y. Joey Chestnut won his sixth straight Fourth of July hot dog-eating contest at New York's Coney Island, downing 68 dogs and buns to tie his personal best.

One year ago: NASA received a radio signal from the solar-powered Juno spacecraft confirming that it was in orbit around the planet Jupiter after a trip of nearly five years and 1.8 billion miles. Joey Chestnut upset Matt Stonie to regain the championship title at the annual July Fourth hot dog eating contest at Nathan's Famous in Coney Island by downing 70 hot dogs and buns in 10 minutes, beating out Stonie by 17 dogs.

Re: July 4th, Independence DayToday is Wednesday, July 4, the 185th day of 2018. There are 180 days left in the year. This is Independence Day.

Today's Highlight in History:
On July 4, 1776, the Declaration of Independence was adopted by delegates to the Second Continental Congress in Philadelphia.

On July 4, 1939, Lou Gehrig of the New York Yankees delivered his famous farewell speech in which he called himself "the luckiest man on the face of the earth."

10 years ago in 2008: Former Sen. Jesse Helms, an unyielding champion of the conservative movement who'd spent three combative and sometimes caustic decades in Congress, died in Raleigh, N.C., at age 86. Dara Torres completed her improbable Olympic comeback at age 41, making the U.S. team for the fifth time by winning the 100 freestyle at the trials in Omaha, Neb. Actress Evelyn Keyes died in Montecito, Calif., at age 91.

5 years ago in 2013: Egypt's interim president, Adly Mansour, was sworn in following the ouster of Mohammed Morsi, the Islamist leader overthrown by the military after just one year in office. The Statue of Liberty reopened on the Fourth of July, eight months after Superstorm Sandy shuttered the national symbol of freedom. Bernadette Nolan, 52, a member of the singing sister act the Nolans who had a worldwide hit in 1979 with "I'm In The Mood For Dancing," died in Surrey, England.

1 year ago in 2017: The United States confirmed that North Korea had launched an intercontinental ballistic missile, as the North had boasted and the U.S. and South Korea had feared. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson called it a "new escalation of the threat" to the U.S. Joey Chestnut gulped down 72 dogs and buns in 10 minutes to beat his own record and hoist the Mustard Belt for a 10th time at the annual Nathan's Famous July Fourth hot dog eating contest.